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It’s already been quite a year for British Asian folk singer Satnam Galsian, who released her first solo single in July, followed by a highly recommended EP Fragmented Truth. She’s now preparing to bring a new piece, Sahiban, to a wider audience as she releases her latest CD this Friday.
Satnam has already earned a strong following through her band Kinaara. What makes her work particularly interesting is that she explores disparate music traditions from India, the UK and Ireland, while also interrogating traditional depictions of women. This latest release was created during her recent Resonance residency, an initiative launched by leading Leeds-based arts organisation Opera North to give musicians from the global majority the time and space to focus on their artistic practice.
It was during this residency at the Howard Assembly Rooms in her home city of Leeds that Satnam chose to focus on a feminist retelling of the story Mirza-Sahiban. In the legend, Sahiban is said to have betrayed her lover, the warrior Mirza, which results in him being killed by her brothers, leaving Sahiban with little alternative but to kill herself in guilt and sorrow.
Working with poet Hafsah Aneela Bashir, guitarist John Hogg and percussionist Luke Reddin-Williams, Satnam reimagined the story through song, giving Sahiban a very different outcome in which she realises that her love isn’t all it is cracked up to be and that, up until now, it is the men in her life who have had the control. In her anger, she breaks Mirza’s arrows in front of him, takes his horse and leaves - but not before making a revelation. In reworking the traditional tale in this way, Satnam is looking to challenge pre-conceived notions and cultural expectations of women, not only in Punjabi folklore but also in South Asian culture.
“Much of my recent work comes from a place of wanting to inspire women and encourage them to be in charge of their own destinies, following their own goals and dreams,” Satnam explains. “It was fantastic to be able to bring this project to fruition with the help of such talented artists during my Resonance residency. To be given the funding, time, and space to devote to this new music was wonderful and I’m proud of what we managed to achieve.”
For anyone new to Satnam’s work, the CD is the perfect introduction both to her vocals and to her chosen instrument, the shruti box which is a drone instrument. What that means is that it sustains a tone which Satnam’s melodies can soar above, making for a particularly evocative combination.
Satnam continues: “I hope this work will encourage people who already know my work to revisit some of the classic folklore from the Indian subcontinent and to read it in a new light, while also introducing new listeners to the storytelling and musical richness of my Punjabi heritage.”
Sahiban will be released this Friday 4 October via Bandcamp and digital streaming platforms. Whispered Messages, Satnam Galsian’s first solo single, and her EP Fragmented Truth are also available to download now from Bandcamp and to stream on Spotify, Apple Music and most other digital streaming platforms.
